Awesome 80's 10K

As I was getting ready for the Awesome 80's 10K race yesterday, I caught a glimpse of myself in the car window and it was apparent that I was dress for the wrong decade, more like the 70's (decide for yourself with the above pic). I wanted to do another half but nothing really fit in the schedule so I signed up for this 10K, and a 5K turkey trot on Thursday. The last time I ran a 10K was in 2008. I0K's hurt. I would much rather run a half-marathon than a 10K, because in the longer distance, you get to actually pace yourself. In a 10K, it's redlining and holding on for dear life the entire time. A 5K is similar, but you don't have to hold on to dear life as long. 10K's hurt.

But for some reason, I've been wanting to race, and wanting to hurt. My standard practice is to pick a race and then train accordingly. Well, I've picked two races and I haven't trained accordingly for either of them. I haven't stepped on a track or done any speed work. Right now, my life is not about the perfect preparation, it's just about exercising and racing to break up the monotony of exercise. My logic is that I've been running farther than the distances I'm racing, so I'll just go out and run that distance as fast as I can, and hurt for as long as I can. On Sunday, I was pleased with how long I could hurt, probably because I kept thinking about the bet I made with Beth. I told her that I would make it hurt extra if she would not ease up and stay positive for 9+ hours at IM Arizona. So when I was content with third place overall at the 5K mark, I injected some speed and increased the hurt to chase down second place. I passed second place and though I knew first was well ahead, I decided to inject some more speed and see how much of the gap I could close. In making it hurt more, I went into zombie breathing mode (that's when you breathe forcefully making an audible noise) and when in zombie mode, my mind shuts down so that I'm solely focusing on breathing and running, and not course signs. Well, I went a bit off course, redirected myself, but still managed to finished second overall. I ran further than the required distance but my 10K split was 37:55, a time I had hoped to do based on the course and my fitness. And Beth? Well, she definitely held her end of the deal, breaking 10 hours for the first time, and dropping 17 minutes off her PR.

It was also cool to relive the 80's, the era I grew up. The lead biker was dressed like Michael Jackson, everybody was wearing neon, and song by Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Whitney Houston were blaring throughout the course. The photos are courtesy of the Awesome 80's 10K Facebook page.